Same Time Next Week?
by ILETUDRIVE
Summary: This is a variation of the current stalker storyline going on GH right now. It features the characters of Jason, Courtney, and Elizabeth. It's only a one parter, so why not give it a whirl, you may be surprised at what you find.


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Explanation: This was written in response to a flash fiction challenge. You had one hour after getting the phrase to write a complete story, so it's not as complete as some of my work is, but I think it works. This is what I came up with, I hope you like it. Please let me know. BTW the phrase was _Saturday Night, Date Night._

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Same Time Next Week?

~Pentonville~

"All right listen up, there are some rules that need to be followed. If you break any of the rules you will be escorted out of the room and could be charged with a felony so pay attention." The bull-faced guard announced to the room at large and the noise in the room gradually began to die out. The guard waited for quiet before going on.

"Rule number one you do not touch the prisoner, on anything other than the hand. The prisoner stays on their side of the table and you are on the other. If you decide to try to get frisky, if you try to touch the prisoner at anyplace above their wrist, you will be arrested."

"Rule number two you are not allowed to give the prisoner anything. It they sneeze and you try to hand them a Kleenex you will be arrested."

"Rule number three visitors are allowed only 30 minutes with the prisoner. Not 30 minutes and two seconds, thirty minutes exactly. When time is called you will immediately stand up and move to the door for departure. Failure to do so will result in loss of future visiting rights."

The guard smiled, showing off his gold bucktooth that was jutting out over his bottom teeth like the way Goofy's did. "Do you understand?"

A few nods and grumbles answered his question and that wasn't enough for him. The guard slammed his Billy club hard on the bars behind him startling a person in the room enough that they screamed. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes." This time the room answered quickly.

The guard tucked his club in his belt and picked up his clipboard. "When I call your name come forward and I'll let you in the room." Scanning his chart he began reading names. As usual the first name on the list was the same one that had been on his list every Saturday for two years. And as usual he deliberately left that name for last. He took pleasure in stymieing one of Port Charles most powerful.

"Jason Morgan," he finally called out his tone dripping in derision.

The tall man stepped out from behind an overweight woman with three kids and moved towards the guard. His stare was deliberately blank, he wouldn't give the guard the satisfaction of knowing how much he hated this.

"Here again I see," the guard taunted. "Against the wall and spread him," he ordered sharply.

Sighing Jason merely did as he was told. It wouldn't do him any good to point out that he had already been searched three times since entering the prison. This was something he had to go through every Saturday, and it was something he always endured in silence. Silence was the only weapon he had against the guards and he used it to perfection.

The guard glared at Jason, but as usual to no effect. He was the king of his own little world yet he knew he couldn't stall any longer. "You're 30 minutes begins," he looked at the clock on the wall. "Now."

Jason was already moving past him and into the drab room. He was struck again at the extreme lack of color in the room. He never used to pay attention to the interior of rooms, but he couldn't help but notice the gray in the room. The gray that always seemed to drain the life out of the people in the room until they were as gray as the walls. He spotted her immediately, as usual she was at the table in the center of the room. They were always given that table, because of who he was, not because of whom she was.

"You came back," Elizabeth spoke when he neared the table.

The surprise was evident in her voice, in her expression and he tried to hide his bitter sigh. No matter how many times he told her he would be there, she never really believed him. She never thought he would come back. Sometimes her lack of faith in him drove him crazy. But he swallowed the anger. 

"I told you I'd be here," he reminded her gently and took the seat opposite her. He placed his hands flat on the table. Palms down, fingers spread, just a few inches from her own, and left them there. He had to wait for her to make the move.

"So how is life in Port Charles?" She asked brightly.

"Pretty much the same." 

Her eyes were bright and stood out in her white face. It was easy to read the desperation in them so he did what he had trained himself to do in the last two years. He began to talk about everything that had happened to him in the last week. It was hard to talk about nothing, especially for a person who never had a reason to talk about nothing before now.

A lot of the times he wasn't even sure of what he was saying. Sometimes he didn't think Elizabeth even listened to the words anyway. For some reason the longer he talked, the more she began to relax and a little of the desperation and fear in her eyes seemed to drain from them. 

"Emily's article on the drug thefts at the PCU Clinic, got her placed on academic probation when she refused to name her source. It also earned her a trip down to the PCPD, but Alexis had her out in twenty minutes."

He felt her hands come to rest on his and his eye moved to the clock, it had only taken 11 minutes for her to touch him this time. That was a new record. Keeping his expression bland he kept talking.

The noise of laughter always struck him as odd when he heard it in this room. The sound of crying seemed to fit it so much more, but there were both in the room. Elizabeth had never done either one. Not once in the 108 weeks of visiting her had she laughed or cried, and she had only smiled three times, he knew each one by heart.

The first smile had been unexpected. It had come when he related the story of how Michael had discovered some spare paint and had decided to redecorate the penthouse while his mother was out. Carly had, had a fit, and Michael found out what punishment really could be like. Apparently his description of Carly's reaction when she put on her boots the next day and found her favorite pair full of purple paint, had been enough to trigger the smile.

The second smile had been expected. Well not expected, but he had hoped to see it. A slight smile had briefly lit her features when he had smuggled in a rose from Lila's rose garden and said it had been sent from Lila with her love.

The third smile was his favorite, even though it was only a whisper. He had been two minutes late last week, and when he'd finally gotten through the search and stepped in the room, Elizabeth had smiled when she saw him. It lasted less than a second but it had made his week.

Their fingers were clasped now, their hands still resting on the center of the table, in full view of the guards. She had progressed to the point where she was holding on as tightly as she could. He often wondered if she held on to him so tight because she was afraid he would disappear.

23 minutes had passed and nothing of consequence had been said, but Elizabeth wasn't quite as pale as she had been when he'd walked in the door. Sighing heavily he knew it was time.

"Have you changed your mind?"

Elizabeth's eyes moved from his face down to their clasped hands. "Don't Jason."

Jason leaned closer and lowered his voice, he knew the room was bugged, the table could even be bugged, but he didn't care. It was a fine line, but one he walked every week. "You don't belong here."

"The Judge and Jury don't agree with you," she murmured.

"That's because you were railroaded. Scott Baldwin used you to prove the voters made the right choice in electing him DA."

"Jason," she raised her eyes to his. "I killed somebody. You can't change that. I took a life and I'm here because of that."

"It was self-defense," Jason pleaded with her using the words he'd been using for over 2 ½ years. If she would only see that then maybe he could help her. Alexis had said that the real reason Elizabeth had been sentenced to 15 years, was because of her attitude, she hadn't tried to fight the charges. And it didn't matter how good the attorney was, if the client didn't want to fight the charges, they were guaranteed to lose every time.

"Was it?" She hesitated and let go of his hands. "I thought it was at the time. But the jury didn't think so, and after hearing what Baldwin said sometimes I don't think it was."

"Elizabeth did Courtney have a knife?" Jason asked sharply.

"Yes," she admitted softly.

"Did she come at you with the knife?"

"Yes."

"You didn't have a choice. She tried to kill you," he was reduced to speaking to the top of her head as she began rubbing at the linoleum table.

"I know but maybe there was something else I could have done. Scott said I was jealous of Courtney. Jealous of the fact you were spending so much time with her. Jealous that she wanted you to stay even when her husband demanded that you leave." She looked up at him then. "I was jealous. Even though I pushed you away, every time I saw you with her, I was jealous and hurt."

The sight of her pain was enough that he broke his rules and touched her hand. She froze immediately, but this time instead of withdrawing he left his hand there. "I'm sorry I didn't see what she was really like until it was too late."

"She was beautiful, a perfect blonde, with the perfect body, who knew just what to say, and who to be, why would you ever suspect her?"

He could hear the venom in her voice. "That's not why I didn't suspect her," he corrected her. "She was Sonny's sister, I couldn't let myself suspect her."

"Sonny," she yanked her hands away and her lip curled in disgust. "It always comes back to Sonny doesn't it?"

"Elizabeth."

"Look around you," she gestured with her hands. "Here's what your loyalty to Sonny costs."

"I'm sorry Elizabeth." How many times had he said that to her? How long would the guilt stay with him? How long would it choke him? He hadn't allowed himself to see how much Sonny had changed, and because he couldn't let himself see it, others had paid the price.

"It doesn't matter." As quickly as the spark of life had entered her, it was gone again. "He's your family it only makes sense that you would stand beside family." She darted a look at him. "But does he consider you family anymore?"

"He hasn't in years," Jason said softly. That fact still hurt. Something had changed Sonny after he left Port Charles. And that something had damaged their relationship to the point it was only employer/employee. Why had it taken him so long to see that? Maybe because he had depended on Sonny more than anyone in his life, more than he had even depended on Robin, and he didn't know how not to do that.

"I'm sorry," she covered his hand. "I know you miss him. Maybe you should…"

"He wanted me to kill you," he reminded her bluntly not caring if the recorders picked it up, they would never be able to do anything with it.

"A life for a life," she commented. "Sometimes I think you should have listened."

"Elizabeth…"

"Time's up. Everybody out." The bellow echoed through the room and Jason knowing better than to drag his feet, got up slowly.

Her hand kept hold of his until her hands were raised high over the table. "Goodbye Jason."

He squeezed her hands once and reluctantly let go. "I'll see you next week." 

"No promises," she set her hands back on the table. "That's why I say goodbye now."

"And I am promising that's why I do say I'll see you later." Jason could feel the guard approach and with a final look he pivoted and headed for the door.

Taking his ID back from the guard he never heard a word that was said. Moving quickly he was out of the building in a few minutes. The first breath of air he took, when he opened the door, was the sweetest of the day, and as usual he felt bad that he was able to breathe it while Elizabeth was stuck inside.

The breeze had picked up while he had been inside the prison, and he moved towards his bike quickly. His mind as usual was reliving a night almost three years ago. A night that had been so horrible, and was impossible for him to forget it.

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"Jason I'm sorry if you don't want to hear this. But I'm telling you the truth. No one is stalking Courtney. She's set everything up," Elizabeth caught his arm when he tried to walk away.

"Why would she lie?" Jason asked.

"I don't know, I don't know why any woman would claim to be stalked when their not. All I know is what I heard. I heard her talking to a woman she used to work with at Oasis. Mariah, Mavis, something like that, she's the one helping Courtney stage this," Elizabeth explained. 

Jason didn't quite know what to do. He knew Elizabeth believed what she was saying, but it was hard for him to believe it. What possible motive would Courtney have to make up a story like this? Why would Sonny's sister lie about this?

"Have I ever lied to you?" Elizabeth demanded.

Only when she was lying to herself as well, he thought but didn't say a word. Something of what he was thinking must have been in his eyes, because Elizabeth stepped back like he had slapped her.

"I guess there really isn't anything to us anymore is there?" She whispered.

"Elizabeth," he caught her hand before she could walk away, but then his cell phone had chirped. "Wait please," he begged before answering the phone.

The person on the other end of the line had been Courtney and by the time he'd hung up with her Elizabeth was gone. She may have been gone but her words had lingered in his mind. And the longer they remained there, the more sense they began to make to him. He didn't know why Courtney was doing this, but he started to believe that Elizabeth was right after all.

Of course he had come to that realization a bit too late. He had decided to confront Courtney, but he waited too long.

__

"Take it easy Jason," Courtney laughed and steadied him.

"What did you give me?" Jason words were slurring and his head was beginning to spin. He knew she had drugged him. He tried to pull away but had no control of his muscles. Her arms were around his waist guiding him and even though he didn't want too, he moved with her. 

"Just something to make you sleep," Courtney chirped and pushed on his chest sending him on the bed.

Jason felt her hands on him as she undressed him. She spoke to him nonstop but he could only make out every other word. She was straddling him when he passed out and when he'd come too Elizabeth was bending over him, trying to wake him up.

"Jason, are you okay? Do you know where she is?" Elizabeth tugged at his shoulders until he was sitting up.

"Leave. She's dangerous," he tried to warn her.

"Not without you," Elizabeth put his arm over her shoulders. "Can you stand?"

"He's not going anywhere with you." Courtney cried from the doorway.

Jason accelerated into the curvy road that led back to Port Charles as his anger grew over what happened next. Elizabeth had let go of him trying to protect him from Courtney and he had passed out again. While he was unconscious Elizabeth had been fighting for her life. She had won. Courtney had ended up dead. It was just unfortunate that the knife had ended up in Courtney's back.

Thanks to that little fact. Sonny's anger over the death of his sister, and Scott Baldwin's desire to make a name for himself as DA, Elizabeth had been charged with murder. The motive was she had caught Courtney and Jason in bed together and in a fit of rage she had murdered the blonde.

It wasn't true, but Sonny had bought it. He had refused to listen to Jason, and by the time blood had been drawn from him, the drug had been out of his system. So he only had his word to back up the claim that Courtney had drugged him. And no one wanted to believe him, they wanted to believe that when Courtney had went to the kitchen to get something to drink, Elizabeth had jumped her and killed her while he had been sleeping in the other room.

Sonny had wanted Elizabeth dead. The bike fishtailed on some rocks when he remembered that conversation. He had refused to kill her, and had also said that if anything happened to her, Sonny would be the next to die. When he said those words he had meant them, and Sonny must have realized that because he never mentioned it again. But at the same time Elizabeth was found guilty even though she shouldn't have been, and Jason knew it was because of Sonny.

Carly must have agreed, because in a move that still surprised him she had kicked Sonny out of the Penthouse and divorced him. When push came to shove, she had chosen to believe Jason and not Sonny. No one was more surprised then him, Sonny hadn't taken that very well and he seemed to implode even more once Carly left. Sonny had disappeared 6 months ago, and even he hadn't been able to find him.

Elizabeth refused to let him break her out of jail. She was willing to serve the sentence that was handed down upon her. Because of that she died a little more every week. He never gave up. He kept looking into Courtney's past, trying to find the motive behind her actions. Alexis never gave up fighting for new a trial, fighting for appeals. And AJ never gave up either. The Quartermaine's, with the exception of Lila, Emily, Ned, and Monica, blocked Alexis' every move in an attempt keep Elizabeth in jail.

Jason knew it was only a matter of time.

Sooner or later he would break, and get her out of jail whether she wanted to go or not. Sooner or later Sonny would make his move and try to kill Elizabeth. Sooner or later the Quartermaine's would make a move on Elizabeth. Sooner or later…

But until then he had a week he had to get through until he could see her again.


End file.
